'The Force Awakens' - Revisited

​Written by Scott Edwards

Since I gave a 100% Spoiler Free review when this movie came out, I have decided that since The Force Awakens is now on DVD, I should be able to actually review the movie without ruining it for anyone. I am a huge Star Wars nut and that will never change since episodes 4-6 are some of the finest storytelling movies you can ever see, well maybe not episode 6, but it still worked.  With that being said, I think that the franchise is in good hands at this point, even though they may have some characters that might need some better development.  So without further ado, time for my Star Wars review.
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The Jedi have been lost to time and with Luke missing, there is nobody that can stand up against the First Order. Being led by Supreme Leader Snoke, only a few evil Jedi remain and Kylo Ren is on his dark side. Needing to ensure that the resistance is not able to find the directions to find Luke Skywalker, they are searching the planet of Jakku, Kylo Ren is able to capture the resistance’s best pilot Poe who has a map that may lead directly to Skywalker. While the First Order only wants complete control of the universe, they kill everyone in their way, but at least one solider does not agree with what is happening.

FN-2187 sees friends and innocents killed in front of his very eyes and knows that this fight is not for him.  Needing to escape the First Order, he breaks the pilot Poe free from their evil clutches and makes it back to Jakku in one piece. Seeing a woman in trouble, Finn tries to help, but finds out that she can take care of herself.  The First Order is not far behind the traitor and his new friend and open fire on the savage town.  Being able to escape off world with the droid that has the plans the resistance needs to find Skywalker, Poe and Rey are in for an adventure of a lifetime.

Being picked up by a space freighter in the Millennium Falcon, Finn and Rey lay eyes on the original crew of Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca. Seeing that Rey knows her way about the ship, Solo thinks that he has located a new crew member for future missions. Knowing where to find someone that can help the fugitives get to the resistance, Han calls upon his old friend Maz who is usually more than willing to help.  But when entering the local watering hole, both the First Order and Resistance get word that their fugitives have arrived and are quickly on their way.  While Rey does not know anything about the Force that she has been hearing so much about, she is pulled into the basement of the bar and opens a box that houses the Skywalker lightsaber.  Seeing images of the past and present, Rey does not know what to make of it, but before she is able to make heads or tails of it, the city is under attack.

Being captured by Kylo Ren, Rey is now the prized possession of the First Order and with the knowledge in her head, she will help her foes locate Skywalker before the resistance can.  But when Kylo Ren tries to dive into her mind, he is shocked that she can defend against his powers.  Not dealing with anyone that could do this before, Kylo is forced to report to Snoke about his failure.  It may not matter however as the First Order’s master weapon is fully operational and unleashed on the galaxy taking out the Senate of the Republic before any actions could be taken to stop it.  The resistance sees this and saddles up to defeat the evil in the universe once again, but now they have Finn on their side, but his motives are not to win the fight, but to bring back the woman that has saved his life.  The fuse is lit and the battle between good and evil will come down to wire once again as the First Order is bigger, but the resistance has more heart.

Well there it is.  I was very happy with this movie for the reason why people did not like it, it felt too much like Episode 4.  I honestly believe that was the point, since it was the best movie of the franchise to date, get the old fans back that you lost with the prequels and gain the youth that were not even close to being born yet when the original came out.  I like the new lead characters, Rey has to be my favorite at this point, mainly because she has a case of the force, but she is also strong and self-sufficient, but will not turn away a helping hand.  I could not stand Kylo Ren, I really hate to say that, but with all of his little breakdowns, he is just a big baby with special powers and a lightsaber. I could have done without the father/son storyline between Kylo and Han, but you know, it made for a very dramatic part of the movie that shocked the world.   It was great having the original cast reprise their roles, but it is a new story and we need to fall in love with the new ones, but we have some good options now. This is a great movie to get yourself back into the franchise and I hope that when Episode 8 makes its way to the big screen, it is even better…and has more lens flairs.  May the Force be with you.

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